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Slumping Avs waive Mitchell, another Roy favorite

Colorado Avalanche v Chicago Blackhawks

CHICAGO, IL - NOVEMBER 03: John Mitchell #7 of the Colorado Avalanche advances the puck against the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center on November 3, 2016 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

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Less than 24 hours after a deflating 4-0 loss in Chicago, the Avs shook up their roster by placing veteran forward John Mitchell on waivers.

Mitchell, 31, had only appeared in four games this year, going pointless while averaging just 9:20 TOI.

A favorite of former head coach Patrick Roy, Mitchell has been with the Avs for the last five seasons. The only forwards with longer tenure are Matt Duchene and captain Gabriel Landeskog.

At times, Mitchell played a key role among the Colorado forward group -- like last year, when he scored 10 goals and 21 points in 71 games, averaging a healthy 15:15 a night.

Mitchell’s best campaign in Colorado came in ’13-14, when he scored a career-high 32 points in 75 games, playing over 16 per.

Today’s move might not make huge waves -- Mitchell is in the last of a three-year, $5.4 million deal, and set to be a UFA on July 1 anyway -- but it is somewhat telling, from the “moving-on-from-Roy” perspective.

This past offseason, GM Joe Sakic traded away another Roy favorite, Nick Holden, to the Rangers in exchange for a fourth-round pick. Roy liked Holden so much that he called Rangers head coach Alain Vigneault, telling Vigneault “you just got one of my better defensemen.”

Not long after that call, Roy resigned as Colorado’s head coach. Jared Bednar was hired shortly thereafter.

Of course, there may be more to the Mitchell situation.

He’s had a myriad of injuries during his time with the Avs, including a series of concussion problems. This year, he missed time to an “annoying and very tedious” hip ailment.